The house today in Hurlstone Park was just lovely. It had heaps of charm and all the usual defects that I normally find in old houses. That is, until I went into the back yard and saw these enormous sandstone retaining walls that were about to collapse. Big bucks to repair those!!

I inspected a house today in Cremorne that presented so nicely - fresh paint, lovely flowers, designer furniture & brand new carpet. I guess the idea was that buyers wouldn't see the leaking roof tiles, cracks in the walls, sloping floors, rusted plumbing and unsafe wiring. Yes ! I guess that was the idea !!

Oh oh. They're at it again - a quick paint job, nice display furniture, a bunch of flowers, music playing in the background and sellers think think that people will overlook the floors that have subsided and the roof tiles that are leaking. Hope you don't get bamboozled by sharp marketing tactics!!

I saw a lovely unit in Billyard Avenue, Elizabeth Bay today - right opposite Boomerang, you know, that beautiful pile of a house that Lindsay Fox owns. While I waited for the agent I tried to get a glimpse of the it but couldn't see much because it's behind an enormous wall. Wow, I'd love to inspect that but it would probably take the best part of a month.

We're back from holidays, eager, fresh and ready to go. And the property market is still H-O-T, especially in the inner city, north shore and eastern suburbs. People are as keen as ever, thank goodness. So a huge Happy New Year to everyone and here's hoping 2008 is as hectic as 2007.

A nice young couple met me at a house in Balmain today. They were very excited about it until I found termite damage in the floors. I told them I hope there's no damage in the roof, but unfortunately.....there was. They were very upset but I told them they would have been more upset if they had found the termites after they bought the house wouldn't they? Yes!!

I met a nice young couple at a house in Gymea today. Everything was going well until we got to the garage which had an old asbestos roof. I told them that asbestos roofs that are weathered can be a health risk and should be removed. They freaked out. I told them there was no need to freak out. All they had to do was have the roof removed but it put them off the property and they just walked away.

The owner of a house in Balmain said we wouldn't find any termites on her property because she had it spayed every year. She showed us the certificate which was for roaches and we didn't have the heart to tell her it was termites we were worried about. She was lucky- there was none there. And no roaches either.

A client who we inspected a house for in Clovelly rang to tell me the agent had bad mouthed us. I told him it was the highest form of flattery.

I inspected two units today at opposite ends of Sydney but they had almost identical problems - damp !! Damp through planter boxes, damp through the walls, damp into the garages and damp through the balcony floors. And both buildings were less than 5 years old !! Disgusting !!

Wow, was it wet today. I know we need the rain but wet weather is horrible for building inspectors. I got wet and cold at 8.00 this morning and stayed that way until I got back to the office at 5.30 in the afternoon. And do you think I got any sympathy from Leone? NO WAY!!

You should have seen this house I inspected in Balmain today. The owner had meticulously patched the cracks in the exterior walls and painted them to try and fool people - what a crook. At least he couldn't hide the floors that had subsided. And when I showed the agent he just couldn't care less!!